A Britain’s Got Talent audition took an unexpected turn, leaving the judges stunned as health and safety personnel rushed on stage to aid Simon Cowell.
The 18th season of the popular ITV talent show is set to air next Saturday (February 22), promising nearly four months’ worth of episodes.
The auditions attracted thousands of hopefuls eager to display their talents. While many managed to impress the judges, one nerve-wracking incident had Simon fearing for his life.
Speaking at the press launch for the new series, Simon expressed his gratitude to the health and safety team that intervened.
In a sneak peek of the upcoming series, Simon is seen being led on stage by a contestant intending to smash a cluster of watermelons with a mallet – with a visibly nervous Simon lying among them.
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Simon Cowell faced a scary situation at this year’s Britain’s Got Talent auditions (Image: Getty Images)
Simon described the experience: “You know the feeling when you kinda think somebody doesn’t want you on the show anymore? It was that. It was the closest, genuinely, where I’m thinking, ‘They actually want to kill me’. I swear to god, that’s how I felt,” reports .
added: “The producers were howling with laughter,” while Simon further explained: “They were like, you know, ‘Carry on,’ and the health and safety guys, who are normally quite annoying, actually stopped him, thank god.”
Simon recounted how his anxiety intensified when the performer became “nervous” and began to slip and “shake” on stage while smashing watermelons, causing alarm among the judges.
“We were genuinely worried,” Alesha Dixon admitted, with Amanda adding: “Even with like St John’s Ambulance, I don’t know what they would have done but anyway, in the wings. It was so precarious because it was melons they were smashing, so the water was everywhere, so any kind of safety that there must have been backstage was out of the window. It was horrific to watch.”
Simon described feeling the breeze from the hammer as it narrowly missed his head, with watermelon juice violently splattering his face.
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Britain’s Got Talent returns to screens next Saturday (February 22) on ITV1 (Image: PA)
“I didn’t realise how much I cared about you, Simon,” Alesha joked, while Bruno Tonioli also commented on the close call: “The hammer landed about an inch from his head.”
“Please don’t do that again. Can we just draw a line under that?” implored Alesha, before reflecting: “It’s funny though, the hardest acts to watch end up being the most entertaining to watch back.”
The auditions held at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool brought another peculiar incident for Simon, as he faced heckling from a woman in the audience.
The 65-year-old judge was met with boos and a barrage of insults, including cries of, “You old fart” whenever he offered feedback to the performers.
Britain’s Got Talent premieres on Saturday, February 22 at 7pm on ITV1